Tag Archives: House Financial Services Committee

iManufacture…

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

China’s about to get some very unwelcome manufacturing competition from Apple. The tech giant just announced that it is starting a $1 billion fund promoting advanced manufacturing. Gosh, is the President going to take credit for this too? In fact, CNBC host Jim Cramer had the dubious distinction of being the first person to hear the news on his show “Mad Money.” For those of you wondering what the difference is between manufacturing and “advanced manufacturing,” it means Apple will basically have to offer specialized skills and training for the latter and fill job gaps with these newly-trained, highly-skilled workers. In any case, Apple has thus far created some two million jobs in the U.S. and can hardly wait to create even more. But how does Apple plan on spending that $1 billion it’s setting aside for this latest project? Well, don’t get too excited just yet, because some of that cash is first going to a company that Apple has partnered with for this initiative. And the name of that lucky company has yet to be announced.

Magnifico!

Image courtesy of Teerapun/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Ah Ferrari. What could be better than tooling around in a machine like that? How about its earnings, for one. The Italian automaker just released its first quarter earnings report and they were everything you’d expect from the maker of one of the world’s finest sports cars. Shares are up well over 6% today after the company announced a 36% earnings increase along with a 50% surge in deliveries. And by the way, those earnings were even better than expected, coming in at around $265 million – which equals 242 million euros – in case you were curious. Estimates, mind you, were for 222 million euros. Revenues also impressed and elated investors, as they increased 22% to 821 million euros, easily beating expectations of 767 million euros. Sure, those numbers are almost magical, but that’s not really what’s got Wall Street tongues wagging. It was Ferrari’s margins, which are now right up there with the aforementioned tech giant we call Apple. But I guess that’s to be expected when you’re selling cars whose ticket prices start well into the six-figures and can exceed $2 million. After all, we are talking about a company who sold out of a car, the Aperta convertible, before the car even made its official debut.

Let’s me be Dodd-Frank with you…

Image courtesy of Tony Dowson/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Things are looking grim for Dodd-Frank, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Republican-led House Financial Services Committee argued that the law sucks for the economy since it slows it down, and today passed a bill that would overhaul and repeal parts of it. It certainly helps Republicans that President Trump promised way back in his campaign to overhaul the law, which he says costs banks a fortune in compliance and limits lending way too much. Democrats argue the opposite and are convinced that the bill, if passed, will once again create the same conditions that led to the 2008 fiscal crisis. In case it wasn’t obvious, the law was initially passed under President Barack Obama. Naturally, Democrats voted against the bill and lost 34-26.

Sit back down…

Image courtesy of interphasesolution/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Almost everyone’s favorite Federal Reserve Chair, Janet Yellen, was in the hot seat today. First she graciously explained in a letter to Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry that, in fact, the Fed possess the authority and has the responsibility to work and consult with foreign entities with regard to financial industry oversight and the development of international banking rules. McHenry, who is Vice Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, didn’t appreciate that the Fed had already engaged in international talks before President Trump had a chance to put his peeps into play to conduct their own reulatory review. But no dice for McHenry as Chairwoman Yellen explained that such efforts were to the benefit and in the best interests of the United States and its financial stability. In other news, Ms. Yellen was mum on whether the Fed would raise rates at its next meeting in March but said waiting too long wouldn’t be a good idea. Besides inflation and the labor market, Yellen and co. are looking to see what policy changes President Trump is going to make before making any major announcements from the Fed’s end. Which seems like a prudent plan, especially from someone who was appointed by President Obama, but is doing her best to keep from playing sides since she has still has a few years left on her term during the current administration. And also because Trump criticized her during the campaign when he said that she was deliberately keeping rates low in order to benefit President Obama. Yikes.

Ni-Hao Barbie…

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Mattel’s wound licking might just be on hold for now, despite losing some major Disney-Princess licensing mojo to Hasbro awhile back. The toy company has begun to forge a new path with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. Nothing like gaining a foothold in the $7 billion Chines toy marketplace to ease those Disney-licensing blues. By the way, the United States’ toy industry is estimated at over $20 billion. Just saying. The company that makes Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars is in a partnership with Alibaba to create and promote interactive and educational toys, in addition to producing entertainment content based on Mattel products. Because hey, who doesn’t love shows based on toys – and vice-versa? Mattel will be selling its new wares via Tmall.com, which is Alibaba’s business-to-consumer retail site. Incidentally, Mattel had already been selling on Tmall.com for about six years now and rumor has it that its selection of Fisher-Price toys have actually been the top-sellers for five years in a row on Alibaba’s November 11 Singles Day. Mattel’s new products for Alibaba will hit Alibaba’s virtual shelves by mid-2017. Mattel could really use the boost, especially since sales of Barbies have not been doing as well as they have in the past, and despite throwing some more realistic features onto the doll. Also, the company reported an earnings miss February 1, taking in 52 cents per share on an 8% revenue decline to $1.83 billion, when analysts expected 71 cents per share. But with Alibaba boasting over 440 million active buyers, chances are Mattel has the ability to turn that last earnings report into a mere distant bad memory.

Apple of my i-Phone…

Image courtesy of jscreationzs/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

For the first time in two years, Apple hit a new high of $134.90 and a market cap of $701 billion. And in case you don’t own any shares, that probably means a whole lot of nothing to you. The last time it hit a new high was back on April 28, 2015, when the stock hit $134.54. But that 36 cents means a whole lot to investors who are hoping, and probably betting, that Apple will release a new iPhone, dubbed the iPhone 8, or the iPhone X – if you dare – that will magically lift blah sales for the tech giant. While the company reported impressive earnings in its last earnings report, its outlook was less so, and the fact that Apple’s revenue decreased by 8% for 2016 didn’t help the mood on Wall Street as of late, even if it is the most valuable company in the world. Rumor has it, the new phone is going to be even more expensive than previous ones, which is always a good way to get Wall Street tongues wagging.